While symbols of nationalism proliferate at the site of the battle, not everyone's mind is made up, says Hamish Macdonell

I've finished my expedition to the glorious Okanagan Valley in British Columbia (Canada's California, apparently) investigating Ogopogo, the monster that is supposed to inhabit Lake Okanagan. Don't worry, I haven't gone all David Icke (yet) – this is for my new book, Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, and the subject gives me an excuse to visit some pretty interesting parts of the world. Canada was probably a brave choice for a first destination as it is seen as literary Mogadon by publishers. Bill Bryson supposedly wanted to write a book about the country but his publishers recoiled in horror. I love the place – I have a Canadian wife and spend every summer there – and hope to convert as many Brits as possible to the land of the beaver.

A 19-month-old boy has died after falling into a lake at a caravan park while on holiday with his parents.

A prominent Australian journalist is believed to be among three people killed in a helicopter crash.

Two men in their 40s have drowned while swimming in a lake, police said today.

The body of a British student who went missing in the Amazon jungle has been found, it was confirmed today.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a pony was pushed to its death in a lake.

A lakeside property in Berlin once owned by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is up for sale at auction.

It is perfectly conceivable that you could sit through three acts of Michael Frayn's homage to the Great British farce and emerge thinking: "Thank God they don't make them like that any more". For anyone who grew up with the politically correct mores of the 1980s alternative-comedy scene, the idea of a theatre audience willingly subjecting themselves to an evening of unvarnished sexist stereotypes, double entendres, relentless running gags and, of course, those dropping trousers seems unimaginably alien.

In London, ENB tend to dance their huge Swan Lake, the vast in-the-round production Derek Deane created for the Royal Albert Hall. This time, they're dancing Deane's smaller version, created for conventional theatres. And very satisfying it is too; a picture-book world with strong performances, particularly the Swan Queen and Prince of Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov. Peter Farmer's traditional designs frame the lake with delicately cut-out trees.

Loch Lomond locals have forced park authorities to destroy copies of a new navigational chart.

Judging by the titles on their debut album – "Argyria", "Chorea" and "Eumenides" – Brighton trio Esben and the Witch are a band who paid attention in Classics.